1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to golf shoes and, more particularly, to improvements to the soles thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known in the game of golf that a proper stance and a consistent swing represent the basis for a good and consistent play. Over the years, different attachments or devices have been developed for the golf shoes and tentatively introduced in the game of golf. These devices were basically aimed at assisting the golfer in his swing and at stabilizing the latter.
For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,942, issued Nov. 14, 1939 to Lyne, discloses devices which are provided with spikes and which are fixedly mounted to the inner edges of the front sole and of the heel of the left golf shoe. These attachments provide the inner left shoe with additional traction as it pivots inwardly during the upswing of the golfer.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,218,734, issued Nov. 23, 1965 to O'Brien, a detachable device is slidably mounted at an outer metatarsal portion of the right golf shoe for forcing an inward tilt of the right shoe and a proper knee position.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,614,107, issued Oct. 19, 1971 to Kinsey, a removable device planted in the ground prevents the left heel of the golfer from leaving the ground for only allowing an inner and an outer pivot of the heel during the swing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,407,079, issued Oct. 4, 1983 to Chiroff, a device having an arcuate surface is fixedly mounted to the left shoe at an outer metatarsal portion thereof for assisting the outer pivot of the left foot during the follow through of the golf swing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,324, issued Apr. 17, 1979 to Lesser et al., each golf shoe has a continuous sole from toe to heel that is at least partly bevelled inwardly and downwardly along the length of the inner and/or outer edge of the shoe.
The spike attachment disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,942 gives transverse traction to the left shoe during the inner pivot thereof but does not provide longitudinal stability thereto as the outline thereof remains arcuate.
Both devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,218,734 and 3,614,107 have to be removed between shots and are thus inconvenient. Moreover, as above, these devices do not provide substantial additional stability in the general longitudinal direction of the shoe. Both the device and golf shoe respectively disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,407,079 and 4,149,324 assist in different pivots of the feet of the golfer with their ground engaging surfaces. These golf shoes are exclusively adapted for assisting the transverse rolling of the shoes during the pivots. The edges of each sole remain arcuate in the plane thereof and, thus, allow longitudinal rolling of the foot on the ground during the pivots thereof. The modifications made to the soles of the shoes disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,324 are only adaptable to such shoes having a thick full sole from toe to heel. Firstly, this shoe model, even prior to the beveling of the soles, has not been adopted by many golfers. The conventional "street shoe" adapted with spikes is still the most popular. Secondly, the beveling of the soles greatly reduces the contact area of the shoe on the ground, the contact area for this shoe model is from the start lesser than that of the above mentioned conventional shoes. This reduced contact area renders walking uncomfortable and unstable. Since the soles are asymetrical and that this asymetry lies directly at the weight distribution level of the shoe, comfort thereof is even more impaired. More to the point, the longitudinal instability of the general golf shoe during the pivots thereof is not alleviated with the proposed soles of U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,324.